Saving energy with the Saveometer Personal Smart Meter

At last the electricity meter has been moved from its dark and dusty home under the stairs or in a spider ridden cupboard, and brought into your home or office in an attractive wireless display that provides real time and historic information about electricity costs in a currency that we all understand - money.

The reasons to start using the Saveometer Personal Smart Meter are simple

The Saveometer PSM is designed to help adopt prudent and economic use of electrical energy within the home, office or work place.

By clearly displaying how much electricity is being used at any time it is easy to make simple choices about how to use your electricity more efficiently.

The Saveometer PSM will also show historical spend, highlighting trends and making it easy to alter behaviour and immediately start saving money.

The Saveometer PSM is also great for checking you haven’t left appliances on unnecessarily or by mistake. You will soon become familiar with the standby cost of running your home or office, a quick glance before leaving or retiring to bed will confirm all is well; a higher than usual reading could mean something has been left on – great for safety and for saving money too.

How can the Saveometer Personal Smart Meter help save money?

Buy the Saveometer PSM and start saving straight away. When you save just 5p per hour this will add up to over £435.00 per year!

Switch things off – by not using standby on devices the average family could save not only money but also up to 150kg of CO2 every year. The Saveometer PSM will show. electricity cost in real time and help to spot anything that should be switched off. A Saveometer Personal Smart Meter will clearly show the "normal" standby cost and will indicate at a glance if something has been left switched on unnecessarily, or by mistake

Rechargeable batteries are always supplied with the Saveometer. Over 650 million batteries end up in the dustbin in the UK every year.

Turn the thermostat down. A reduction of just one degree on your thermostat can save as much as 10% of your heating costs. The Saveometer PSM temperature display will help you to keep the environment just right – saving money on your heating costs.

More energy saving tips.

Kitchen

Only fill the kettle with as much water as you need, just make sure the element is covered.

Always use the right sized pan for your cooking ring and whenever possible use a lid to retain the heat.

Use pans that can be divided into sections so that you can cook different things on one ring.

Try not to keep opening the oven door during cooking.

When making toast use a toaster and not the grill.

Where possible use a microwave to dramatically reduce cooking times.

Defrost fridges and freezers regularly.

If storing cooked food in the fridge or freezer make sure it is completely cold before doing so.

Laundry and dishwashing

Wash at 40 degrees or lower and use a third less electricity.

Try and wash full loads only or use the half load setting if one is available.

Use a washing line where possible – fresh air is free and on sunny days will dry your laundry just as quickly as a tumble dryer.

Check tumble dryers energy rating - the most efficient and cheapest to run are given "A" rating.

Always run a full dishwasher and use an economy setting.

Living Room

Draw curtains at dusk to prevent heat loss through the windows.

Make sure curtains aren’t draped over any radiators.

Fit threshold brushes to the bottom of doors to prevent drafts.

Check room thermostats that control central heating. Ideally they should be set between 18 and a maximum of 21 degrees.

Wear an extra jumper if you are feeling chilly and put on a pair of socks or slippers – warm feet can make all the difference to feeling cold or not.

Check all standby items that may be left on:

TV

DVD Player

Satellite box

Games console

Surround Sound system

Printer

These will all be using electricity whether you are using them or not.

Bedrooms

As with the living room – close curtains at dusk.

Check standby items.

Use energy saving bulbs in all bedside lamps and lights.

Check your computer and monitor - these items are frequently left on at night.

Bathroom

Have a shower instead of a bath – but if you have a power shower limit the time to less than 4 minutes otherwise you will use more water than it would take to fill a bath.

Always remember that heating hot water can account for up to 25% of electricity costs. If you have a hot water cylinder make sure it’s well insulated.

In the garden

Check the setting of any security lights – make sure they are not being set off unnecessarily.

Whenever practical use a manual lawnmower rather than an electric one.

The same goes for a hedge trimmer – it will keep you fitter too!

Install a water butt and use a watering can to water you garden.

At work

Shut down all computers and printers at the end of the day - don't just leave them on standby.

Minimise the amount of paper you use to print.

Set printers up to print on both sides of a sheet of paper.

Only fill the kettles with as much water as is needed immediately.

Turn off photocopiers and other office equipment before leaving.

Check the lighting and heating in unused meeting rooms and offices. Make sure they too are switched off when leaving

General advice for saving energy

Shop around for the best energy prices using the many comparison websites

When buying any new electrical appliances, whether for home or the office, always check the energy rating

Check that your home has enough loft insulation and that it has cavity wall insulation - visit www.energysavingtrust.org.uk for a list of grants that may be available in your area. For businesses visit www.carbontrust.co.uk for help in saving energy and reduce your carbon footprint

These are just a few ways we think you can save energy and money around the home and office, but we are keen to hear your favourite energy saving tip. Send it to us and we will display it on our website with our favourite tip every month receiving a free Saveometer Display.